Everything I Wanted
by Charlie-Berry1
Summary: Set during 'Concert Interruptus', During the concert a familiar face is amoung the audience. What if Rory decides to leave with Madeline and Louise, bringing her closer to meeting Jess. Please Read.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, only my box sets 1-3

A/N: So, I roughly had this idea when I was watching re-runs a few months ago and have only now decided to write this as a new way for Rory and Jess to meet. If this scenario has been done before, then sorry, but I've yet to read one.

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'Are you enjoying the concert?' Rory asked, turning her attention away from The Bangles and focusing on Paris.

'Yeah, they're great. It was really nice of your mum to get us these tickets' Paris replied, she didn't avert her eyes from the concert but the slight smile on her face told Rory that the sentiment was genuine. Inwardly grinning, Rory continued to enjoy the show. The entire ride up to New York had been littered with the occasional awkward silence, and due to their past Rory hadn't expected to find peace over a concert. The Bangles were truly amazing if they could make Paris and Rory forget their differences.

Her mother had given away the four best tickets so Rory could share them with Paris, Louise and Madeline and maybe call a truce to the bitterness of the past year. Judging by tonight, it was working. Glancing over at Madeline and Louise, Rory noted that they were still flirting with the two boys in the row behind. Okay, so they obviously wern't great fans of the band, but atleast they were enjoying themselves. Once again Rory turned her head to the stage and swayed slightly to the rhythum of 'Eternal Flame'.

Suddenly Rory felt a nudge on her right shoulder, she quickly noticed that Madeline was attempting to gain her attention.

'Hey Rory, me and Louise are going to bail. Okay?' She asked the question as though it were nothing at all, as though Rory would be fine with the two teenage girls wandering the streets of New York alone. Wait, Rory wasn't their mother and they definatly wern't asking her permission, judging by the way Louise was putting on her coat and Madeline was collecting her handbag, the two girls had already reached a decision.

'No wait, you can't leave. My mom said to meet her and Sookie in the main enterance when the concert is finished' Rory persisted. Louise and Madeline wern't exactly close friends but Rory certainly cared enough to keep them out of trouble.

However both girls were obviously unaware of the danger they could get into within New York City, instead they seemed more afraid that Rory would embarass them in front of their new friends. Lowering her voice to not let the guys hear, Louise whispered 'It's okay, we'll be back before the concert is over. Ready to meet you and your mommy', she smirked, obviously attempting to give the illusion that she was older and parents were of little concern to her. From what Rory had heard of Louise's family life, this was probably what she genuinly thought anyway.

Rory sighed in frustration 'No, don't you know how dangerous it is to wander New York alone?'. Hopefully she could get the girls to reconsider.

Madeline was unfazed 'It's okay, Jess and Sean will be with us' she responded, as if that were a perfectly good answer. Louise on the other hand had turned back to the guys, ignoring everything Rory argued.

Rory placed her head in her hands momentarily, Madeline wasn't the brightest spark but sometimes it could get really frustrating 'But you don't know them!'

'That's not true; we've been talking for ages. There both really nice, well, Sean is. Jess doesn't really say much, but he's still really cute. Anyway they know of a party around the corner and said we're welcome to come' Madeline said in her perky voice 'I can ask if you're allowed to come, Paris too'

'No that's not-' Rory began, but her efforts were useless. Madeline had already turned back to the guys and was asking if Rory and Paris could tag along. Rory looked up, unsure of what to do next.

'Of course your friends are welcome, more the merrier right Jess?' The taller of the two guys said, a grin stretching across his face. Rory took him to be Sean, she also saw for herself what Madeline had meant about Jess being quiet, not really bothering to look up he just grunted in affirmation.

'Great! So are we ready to go? Paris?' Louise reached over, tapping Paris on the shoulder. Paris had been engrossed in the concert, unaware of what her friends had been planning.

'What?' she snapped, obviously disgruntled at being disturbed.

Before either Louise or Madeline could jump in Rory began talking, hoping to gain Paris as an ally 'Madeline and Louise want to leave the great concert, which you yourself are enjoying, to attend a party with two random guys that they have only known for about five minutes-'

'More like fifteen' Madeline objected.

'- I personally think this is a bad idea because they could get lost, or hurt or do something stupid. What do you think Paris?' She finished off. Like Rory, Paris wasn't either of the girls mother and had no proper authority over them. However, it had become apparent that Paris was their kind of leader, she was always making the decisions in the group and although they never really benefited Rory, she prayed that this time it would.

'I don't really care what they do, it's their decision' she answered, facing the stage once again.

Before Rory could process what had happened or what to do next, she felt both girls nudging past her, eager to leave. 'No wait! You can't go' she argued in one last feeble attempt.

Louise paid no attention, instead sidling up next to Sean and talking in a low whisper as they began to leave, Jess following behind. Madeline however turned once more, 'look, you're welcome to come. It'll be fun'.

'I... Okay'. The words had slipped out of her mouth before her brain had time to consider them. It was probably best. If Paris and her both went with them, they could pay attention to the direction and time, making sure that the four girls arrived back at the concert ready to meet Lorelai and Sookie. Noticing that Louise was already walking away and that Madeline had begun to follow, Rory grabbed Paris by the arm and led the way out of the concert hall.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'Do you think I should take my shirt off?'

Rory looked up startled, why on earth would Paris ask that. The two girls were walking through the streets of New York City, closely following in the direction that Sean was leading them in. Rory had noted that wherever they were headed, it certainly was not just around the corner.

'What?' Rory asked, completely baffled.

'I'm just trying to think of the best way to fit in when we get there' Paris began to explain, in logic that would only make sense to her 'I'm an academic Rory, it's all I know. I was prepping for my SAT's in pre-school when most of the other girls were attending birthday parties with cake and balloons. I'm aware this will be a different type of party, but my experience is still limited. Now girls our age have progressed from cake and balloons to alcohol and making-out in dark corners. I also know how they dress, revealing as much skin as possible in an attempt to attract a member of the opposite sex'

Stating the obvious, Rory responded with. 'You're crazy'.

'So, should I?' Paris pressed. Looking up, Rory noticed that Jess, who had been casually sauntering behind his friend, was now staring at Paris, as though she were some strange rare creature. Rory blushed slightly with embarrassment.

'Should you what?' she answered, attempting to keep her cool.

'Remove my shirt'

'No Paris, you don't hav-'

'Raise the length of my skirt?' Paris now began inquiring.

'No! Just stay as you are. Your not looking to attract any male attention so just calm down' Rory argued, eager to shut Paris up 'we won't be here very long anyway'.

'Good, because I'm not fully equipped for this type of situation'.

'Oh God' She groaned, before following her friends into a large apartment building.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Please Review, they make me smile : )


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: thanks to all those that reviewed the first chapter, I really appreciate it, so thanks.

This chapter is more Rory and Jess meeting, but I actually liked writing Paris so hopefully she'll be back. Please tell me what you think.

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Stepping into the apartment, Rory instantly knew this was not her type of scene, and definitely not somewhere she would feel comfortable. From the two guys drunkenly slurring their words by the counter to the couple slobbering over each other on the sofa and even the faint sounds of someone vomiting from the bathroom, Rory concluded that she would much rather be at the concert, or even back home in the safe confines of Stars Hollow.

Madeline and Louise however, seemed to fit right in. With Sean leading the way, the two girls headed into the corner of the apartment where the fridge was kept and helped themselves to a drink. Beer, Rory noted, but before she could intervene with her underage schoolmates drinking habits Rory found herself confronted with having to deal with Paris and her social awkwardness.

'So, what are we supposed do?' Paris asked, the situation completely knew to her. In fact, she appeared extremely baffled at how everyone was behaving, wondering why they would rather drink and make out than participate in a lively debate.

'Just hang out I guess' Just like Paris, Rory wasn't entirely sure what to do. However, having watched massive amounts of television, therefore having seen her fair share of teen dramas Rory believed that 'hanging out' at a party was probably what they should be doing.

'Hang out?' Paris questioned. Believing that Paris had never done or even heard of such a thing, all Rory could do was nod. 'Okay, hang out' Paris confirmed, before making her way through the crowd towards the sofa where the couple were still groping each other.

Noticing the flash of irritation over Paris's features at not being able to sit down, Rory decided to make her exit. She certainly didn't want to be in the same room when Paris made a scene, for she just knew Paris would use her as a backup, therefore dragging Rory into an argument. Something she definitely didn't want.

Choosing to follow her own advice Rory headed through the small apartment in hopes of finding somewhere remotely quiet, where she could wait for the time to pass before having to head back to the concert. Stopping outside a random door Rory hoped it was deserted bedroom, but before she turned the handle she heard sounds from the other side, these both confirmed that it was indeed a bedroom but also that under no circumstance should she enter.

Walking further she found another room, after pressing her ear against the door she confirmed that no sound could be heard. Entering into darkness Rory rejoiced in the knowledge that she had found a deserted room. Flicking the light switch on, Rory headed over to an armchair and pulled out her book.

Originally Rory had felt a bit stupid putting a book in her bag, she didn't expect The Bangles to be boring and even believed the book would only serve to be an extra weight that she had to carry around. However, always having a book on her was one of Rory's trademarks, it might seem strange to most but to Rory it made perfect sense. There was never a bad time to submerge into the pages of a book and now seemed like as good a time as any.

Opening up her copy of _Anna Karenina_ to the page she had last left off, Rory entered into a fictional world that made her oblivious to the surrounding realties. So oblivious in fact, that she didn't notice the pair of chocolate brown eyes that were boring into her.

It turned out that the supposed deserted room was in fact already occupied. Sitting across the way in a darkened corner was Jess Mariano. Apparently he to had escaped the youthful clichés of a party to occupy himself with a book. To avoid being found by Sean or another one of his mates, Jess had kept the lights dimmed. However, only half a page down he had been disturbed by one of the girls Sean had brought along with him. Originally intending to leave or scare the girl away with his surly attitude, Jess had actually found himself interested. This was definitely the first time he had seen a girl choose to read rather than party.

Clearing his throat Jess waited for the girl to realise she wasn't alone.

Startled by the sound, Rory whipped her head up and shut her book. Across the room sat one of the boys Madeline and Louise had met at the concert, Jess was his name if she remembered correctly. Noticing he was already seated and that the door was still closed, Rory realised he had been here the entire time. She also noticed a dog-eared copy of _On the Road_ partially closed on his lap.

Blushing slightly Rory stuttered out an explanation 'I'm sorry, I didn't realise I wasn't allowed in here or that someone was here first. I just wanted to read for a while but it was too loud out there and...' Rory trailed off noticing that Jess was just staring at her with one eyebrow raised. 'I'm sorry, is this your room?' she asked, before noticing the pink bedspread and bottle of perfume on the nightstand 'sorry, no of course not'. Rory felt her cheeks darkening even further.

Jess continued to stare, leaving Rory afraid to move. She wanted to leave; the intensity of Jess's gaze was unsettling but found she was unable to move out of her seat.

Needing to fill in the silence Rory started to talk again 'So, Jack Kerouac. Are you enjoying his novel? I liked it, but it's not necessarily for everyone'.

Jess pulled the novel closer to him, obscuring the title as though he disliked the idea of Rory knowing what he was reading 'It's alright'.

'Have you read _Visions of Cody? _It's probably my favourite Jack Kerouac novel'

For a moment Jess looked slightly startled but he soon hid his expression again 'It was Okay'

_Wow, insightful _Rory thought. At first she had been excited at the prospect of discussing literature with someone new, but from the five words jess had said Rory realised that this was probably an unlikely possibility. Jess had probably picked up _On the Road_ randomly, with no proper understanding of how great a novel it was. Standing up, Rory headed for the door, not wanting to remain in this uncomfortable situation.

However, before she could even open the door Rory was halted by Jess's voice 'Hey, what are reading at the moment?'

Turning around, Rory sighed '_Anna Karenina_, have you heard of it?' she dared to ask.

Jess stood up and stepped closer to her 'yeah, I've read it a few times'.

'A few times?' Rory questioned, trying to conceal her shock. Jess merely shrugged.

'Yeah, I think the first time was when I was fourteen' he said in a low voice as he edged slightly closer to Rory.

'Oh, I didn't read it till I was fifteen' Rory replied, still in shock that Jess was talking in full sentences. 'It also took me two attempts to get through the entirety of _On the Road_'

Jess smiled slightly, 'how come?'

'Well, I got through about half of it until I started to lose the plot slightly, here give me your copy' she said reaching for Jess's book 'I'll show where I got lost'.

Taking the book from Jess, who had been griping onto it tightly, Rory led her way towards the bed and sat down. Jess followed, watching Rory as she flicked through the pages, noting her expression when she detected the small annotations within the margins. Slowly her face changed from curiosity to scandalized.

'You've defaced a perfectly good book' She remarked.

Jess let out a small chuckle, 'It's not as though I've wrote obscenities. I've just pointed out the things I liked, the things I didn't like. Noted my thoughts...' his voice faded away, and Rory could sense the slight embarrassment.

Rory began rifling through the book, finding her favourite pages and reading what Jess thought. Each point was more fascinating than the last and Rory couldn't put the book down. It was as though she had just discovered her new favourite novel, author: Jess Mariano.

Perceiving that Rory would be spending along time examining his notes, Jess sat back further on the bed and picked up Rory's book. Taking a pen out of his back pocket, he began annotating the pristine copy of _Anna Karenina._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So sorry it took me a while to update, I had expected to put it up earlier but couldn't. I was then away from a computer for age so...

Anyway, thank you so much for the lovely reviews, I honestly did not expect as many as I got. I love hearing what you guys think and truly appreciate each one, so keep them coming.

Hope you like the next instalment; I'm optimistic that the next update won't be too long as I already have an idea of what I'm going to write.

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Sinking further back into the cushions, Jess tried to focus on the book in front of him. However, every so often he couldn't help but glance up at the girl sitting on the edge of the bed. Rory obviously had no problem keeping her attention on literature, studying each individual word as though it held a hidden meaning. Occasionally she looked thoughtful, as though she wanted to disagree with a point that Jess had made, and instead of scaring him Jess was actually thrilled. Sure, people knew he liked to read, it was obvious considering he constantly had a book in his back pocket, but no one had understood it before and he certainly hadn't met someone who shared his passion.

His first thought of Rory had been that she was another generic party girl, unfortunately he had based this assessment on her two friends that Sean had been interested in. Those types of girls were fun, someone you could have a good time with but eventually it would all grow stale, and like so many times before, Jess would grow bored.

The journey to the apartment had given Jess a newer insight. Rory was nothing like the two other girls; instead she appeared shy and kind of awkward. Easily blushing at everything her insane friend mentioned, Jess believed she wasn't even worth the time. Why bother spending a night attempting to seduce a girl that would easily clam up again? Jess had decided that if he wanted any 'fun' tonight he sure wasn't going to find it with Rory.

However, since Rory had entered the bedroom Jess had felt himself drawn to her. The obvious reason being that she liked to read, but also that he was able to appreciate how he had been wrong about her. It was Rory that had begun the conversation, showing she wasn't as shy as he had presumed. But she still blushed a little, which secretly Jess found endearing. He was also able to admire Rory's subtle beauty, she wasn't obvious and her looks didn't demand attention, but certain qualities of hers were definitely attractive. Especially the unique cerulean of her eyes and the slight plumpness of her lips, something Jess was very curious to find out whether or not they were as soft as he imagined.

Deciding to give up on the book, Jess continued to study Rory. He watched as the slight smile on her face fell when she turned the last page. Jess had never let anyone read his notes, they just wouldn't understand his unique way of thinking and would most likely not be interested. It was clear however, that Rory was not just anyone else.

Rory moved to face him, disappointment obvious on her face 'I've finished'

'So I see' he stated, slightly amused.

'Do you do this in all your books?'. She gestured to the copy of _On the Road. _Her expression looked so hopeful and Jess was ecstatic that his answer wasn't going to disappoint.

'Most of them'

'Can I read one another time?'

This time it was Jess's turn to be disappointed. No matter how much he wanted to say yes, invite her over to his own apartment and allow her to sit forever with him reading, the answer had to be no. Jess couldn't be sure where Rory was from but it was without a doubt not New York. They just didn't breed individuals like Rory here.

Deciding to not answer her directly, he didn't want to cause her any sadness, he chose to force her to reach the answer on her own 'Where do you live anyway?'

'Stars Hollow' Great, she lived in a Disney cartoon. At Jess's look of incredulousness, Rory continued 'It's in Connecticut, near Hartford'

'Huh' was all he could say. Okay, so Rory wasn't exactly light-years away but was it really worth it? A trip to Hartford was a least a couple of hours and the two of them didn't know each other very well at all. They shared a love of literature and Jess was definitely attracted to her, but he didn't really know that much else, was it really worth it? Still, Jess couldn't help the nagging feeling that he craved to see Rory again. His instinct said the two of them could talk for hours, with Jess actually paying full attention, something that no other girl had witnesses before.

However, he didn't know about Rory, did she want to see him or his books?

Before Jess could form a solution, Rory decided for them 'you're right, it's too far away. Not really much point is there'

Jess felt his heart sink, despite his own reservations he had hoped Rory would choose the other option, that they would make it work. He could see it was the right choice but that didn't make it any less upsetting. Looking up, his face expressionless, he saw Rory was displaying enough emotion for the two of them. Her eyes were downcast and her shoulders slumped, the exact image of melancholy.

'Hey, you wanna go grab a drink?' anything to break the silence that had fallen between them. Jess had felt like an idiot, here he was sitting with someone he genuinely wanted to spend time, yet neither were speaking, wasting precious time.

The suggestion perked Rory up, they may as well make the most of what they had left 'sure'

Standing up, Jess reached out his hand and led Rory out of the room. Rory's hand was slightly clammy and damp, an obvious show that she was nervous to be doing something as innocent as holding hands with another boy, this was only reinforced by the deep blush across her cheeks. Jess couldn't help the smirk; he enjoyed the reaction he created in Rory. She seemed so naive, so pure, so far from Jess's usual type. Then again, Jess's usual type had only ever lasted two weeks maximum.

'Here' Jess handed a can of Cola he had just taken out of the fridge over to Rory, knowing instinctively that she would not be impressed if he had offered alcohol.

'Thanks' Rory replied taking the soda. Immediately Rory hugged her bag tighter and wrapped her arms closer around her. Taking too many sips of her drink to be considered casual and the frequent glances around the room told Jess that she was nervous, completely new to this type of scene.

'We can go sit down if you like?', he suggested, attempting to put Rory at ease and away from the mass of the rowdy crowd.

'Yeah, sure'

They made their way over to a small couch in the corner of the apartment. Being away from the centre of the party relaxed Rory, enabling her to start conversation again.

'So how long have you and Sean been friends? I mean you both seem so different' both glanced over at Sean who was noticeably the life and soul of the party, constantly surrounded by people and clearly very in his zone 'he's so loud and confident, yet you prefer to hide out in a room with a book'

Jess frowned, he'd never really considered his and Sean's friendship 'I could say the same about you, how did you end up with those two?' he asked, gesturing over to Madeline and Louise. Both were clearly drunk and dancing enthusiastically to the music, Jess guessed that tomorrow they would both be incredibly embarrassed at their antics, especially considering they were the only ones dancing.

'We're not really all that close' Rory replied. Jess could see that she was torn, part of her wanted to remain with Jess yet another part was worried at how drunk her friends were.

'Yet you went to a concert with them'

'My mom had the tickets, she thought if I invited Madeline, Paris and Louise them maybe I might make some friends at my school' Rory was blushing 'I mean I have friends, but I moved to a new school which is outside my town and don't really know a lot of people so-

'Rory, you're rambling'

'Oh, sorry'

Jess just smirked 'its okay, I'm kinda like that too, keep to myself when I'm at school. Well, when I actually bother going'

Rory's eyes grew noticeably larger, shocked that Jess played truant. He couldn't help the genuine smile that escaped when he thought again about just how innocent Rory truly was. It was suddenly wiped off his face when he realised that someone like Rory would probably never really want him, sure she liked him now, but if a love of books was all they had in common then how long would Rory remain interested?

'Rory!'

Jess was dragged out of his musings by the sound of Paris's voice.

'What's the matter Paris?' Rory to sounded disappointed at the disturbance.

'There's no need to take that tone Gilmore. I think it's time we should leave' Okay, so Jess really disliked this 'friend' the most.

'Why?'

'Because I have a report due on Monday which needs to completed tomorrow. I have therefore planned my day accordingly, giving myself sufficient time to eat, wash and most importantly work. I will not rearrange my agenda just so you can spend time nattering away like an elderly pensioner to farm boy's replacement.'

Jess now understood what Rory had said earlier, there was no way these two were friends by choice. Completely baffled by what and where Paris was headed with her rant, Jess sat back and tuned the voices out. He vaguely wondered who 'farm boy' was.

'Paris, what are you talking about?' Rory groaned.

'Rory, if my schedule is to stay on track I have to be up by seven tomorrow morning, I also need exactly seven hours sleep every night or my skin breaks out into a rash. Plus, the hygiene of this apartment is not what I would consider first-rate so my rash may just appear anyway. Seriously haven't these people heard of showers, it's not as thoug-

'Paris! Please get to the point' Rory almost yelled, determined to calm Paris down. By the looks of it, Paris was drawing attention to herself and Rory was sure they wouldn't appreciate attacks to their sense of hygiene.

'It's ten minutes to midnight-

'What?!' Rory almost shrieked, grabbing Paris's wrist to look at the time 'Oh my God!'

'I know, if I'm not in bed in ten minutes its goodbye to a clear complexion' Paris continued, not at all concerned that the concert had finished over an hour ago while the four girls remained absent.

'Paris we need to leave now' Rory commanded 'go get Madeline and Louise'

Brought back by Rory's shriek, Jess had stood up and attempted to gain Rory's attention 'Rory? What's going on?'

'Oh my God, umm, I'm really late Jess. I've got to go before my mom calls in the National Guard to track me down'

Grabbing her things Rory began to head in the direction of Paris who was pushing a giggling Louise and Madeline out of the apartment.

'Wait, Rory!' Jess yelled, stumbling slightly to follow her.

'What?' she turned, still agitated and eager to leave.

'You forgot your book'

He held out the copy of _Anna Karenina _which Rory hastily took before running out of the apartment.

Jess hoped that tonight before she fell asleep she would read the notes in the margins he had left for her.

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	4. Chapter 4

Rory glanced around at the buildings, trying to decipher which ones she recognized. The journey to the party had been longer than expected and now Rory wasn't entirely sure which direction they had come from.

This was bad, worse than the time she had stayed out all night with Dean after the Chilton dance. At least she had been in Stars Hollow, able to find her way home. This time however, she was lost. Stuck in a huge city accompanied by two drunken teenagers and Paris. Her mom would be angry, Rory had single-handedly betrayed all the trust that Lorelai had bestowed upon her. But mostly she would be worried, utterly destroyed that her only daughter was missing in New York City.

'Rory!' Paris's bark distracted Rory from the different scenarios playing in her head, each one worse then the last. All depicting what might happen if Rory never found her mom again. 'Why don't you help me with the Hilton sisters over here?'

Paris gestured over towards Madeline and Louise, both completely enthralled by the ever-changing colours on the traffic lights. 'Oh my God, it's just turned red' Louise slurred, Madeline nearly collapsed into hysterics as a response.

Great, yet another thing she would have to explain to her mom. On top of all that had happened, Rory would be bringing back two underage, drunken girls. Could life get any worse?

Rushing over to her peers, Rory grabbed hold of Louise while Paris took Madeline. Together they led the girls down the streets of New York.

'Paris, do you even know which way we're headed in?' Rory asked, panting slightly under the strain.

'I've been praised a few times for my photographic memory; it's often helped in situations like this. While you were making eyes at your new boyfriend I was taking in the sights that we passed by' Paris stated. Rory didn't quite believe this, in fact on the way Paris had been more occupied with her outfit.

Louise snorted at Rory's side before muttering 'She read the sign'. With a nod of her head, Louise motioned towards a sign that clearly stated in which direction the concert hall was in. Not bothering to point this out to Paris, Rory followed as the other girl barged through the crowds, pushing aside anyone who dared get in her way.

Sure enough though, as the girls turned the corner they were confronted with the entrance to the concert. Joining the crowd that were still swarming around, Rory felt her gut tighten at the prospect of what Lorelai would say.

'Rory!'

At the sound of Sookie's voice Rory turned around, only to be nearly knocked down by the force of the hug she was enclosed in. 'Sookie' she chocked out, gasping for air.

'Oh my God Rory. You have no idea how worried we were' Sookie said, glancing around and counting to make sure all four girls were present.

Rory could feel her voice shaking 'Sookie, where's my mom?'

'She's at the car, checking to make sure you girls didn't think we meant to meet there. We'd better go find her, Lorelai's in a big enough state as it is'

The words stung. Of course Lorelai would think that, never in a million years would she believe her daughter would ditch to attend a party. The only consolation Rory had was that Madeline and Louise were remaining relatively calm; anymore outbursts from them would only allude to the knowledge that they weren't exactly sober. Rory wouldn't lie, but it would certainly be a lot easier if that part was left out for now.

The four girls followed Sookie in silence, Madeline and Louise occasionally looked fascinated by the buildings, but other than that everything seemed normal. If Rory was any other teenager but herself she would definitely try the whole lying thing, pretending that they had been at the concert and just couldn't see Sookie and her mom.

Unfortunately, Rory wasn't that type of teenager.

Before Rory had time to acknowledge the fact that she was now in a parking lot she was suddenly thrust into another suffocating hug, this time courtesy of Lorelai Gilmore.

'Thank god you're safe. All of you' she breathed out, addressing the four girls.

'I found them outside the entrance, must have missed us' Sookie said, still unaware of the real explanation.

Before Rory could explain she was cut off.

'The sky looks so beautiful tonight, so dark' Madeline said, staring at the parking lot roof 'I've never seen it like that before'

'Yeah, it's lovely' Louise chimed in.

'Okay, what's wrong with them?' Sookie asked, slightly bemused.

Bluntly, Paris explained 'they had too much too drink. I did warn them at the start of the party that excess amounts of alcohol inside their small body masses was not a smart move, however, obviously they ignored me'

'What party was this?' Lorelai said through gritted teeth, as though trying not to lose her cool 'there was no alcohol at the concert, so where did you girls go? And who gave you drinks?'

'Madeline and Louise met two guys at the concert who invited us to a party. They wanted to go so me and Paris went with them' Rory rushed the words out, only now fully realizing what a stupid thing she had done. Yes she had considered the fact that it was a bad idea, but not the full extent of how dangerous it was to follow strangers back to their apartment.

'Get in the car, all of you' Lorelai ordered.

'Mom, I'm so sorry-'

'Rory, I said get in the car' Lorelai's tone was firm, mixed with a coldness that Rory had never experienced before.

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The drive back was silent, no one daring to speak. Waves of disappointment were radiating off Lorelai and everyone sat still, careful not to disturb the silence.

It gave Rory time to reflect on the past evening, the concert, the walk back to the apartment, meeting Jess. Rory had many regrets about the evening, she felt she should have displayed better decision making, she should have taken note of the time and watched the alcohol units that her friends were consuming, however, the one thing Rory couldn't find any regret for was meeting Jess.

Never had she felt so connected to another person. Rory believed she could have spent hours in Jess's company; they wouldn't even have to talk, just read. The thought of reading reminded Rory of the margin notes, Jess's thoughts had challenged her, forced her to consider different perspectives. She remembered being sorely disappointed when _On the Road _came to an end, even more disillusioned to find that her evening with Jess was likely to be a one time thing.

Rory knew she should be thinking about how to amend the situation, but thoughts of Jess were consuming, intoxicating and Rory had to fight away the content smile she was developing.

Her mood was suddenly shattered by the sound of Louise's voice, 'I had fun tonight. It was certainly more entertaining than the concert. At least at the party they played modern music, the concert was the type my mom listens to. I mean, that's kinda lame' she mused to herself. Rory glanced at the rear-view mirror catching Lorelai's expression. Louise was mumbling, all the words merging into one, but one look at Lorelai told Rory she had understood every word.

'Urgh, I know what you mean' Madeline stated.

'I also got Sean's number. He said to call him anytime' Louise bragged 'whatever happened to Jess, he was cute. I thought you two might have hit it off'

'I barely spoke to him. As soon as we arrived he left, I saw him and Rory leave one of the bedrooms though-

'Look, Louise your make-up is practically falling off your face. I didn't know you looked like that usually' Paris interjected; Rory silently thanked her for diverting the conversation away from her and Jess as both girls had begun rooting through their bags in search of a compact mirror.

The damage was already though, just one glance back into the rear-view mirror told Rory all she needed to know. She could see Lorelai's expression, panic, worrying that her daughter may have found herself in the very same situation that she had at sixteen. Pregnancy was something that Rory knew plagued Lorelai's mind when it came to her daughter, yes she highly doubted Rory would follow in her footsteps but everyone made mistakes, and that was something Lorelai Gilmore knew all to well.

'By the way, I'm very much gonna enjoy the conversation with each of your parents' Lorelai stated. By the looks of it, none of them cared that much, probably expecting their parents to not mind. 'Do you girls have any idea how much trouble you could have gotten yourselves into? Did you honestly think this was a good idea?'

No one answered, the questions were rhetorical and none of the girls would be able to find a sufficient answer anyway. Rory glanced at Paris, at least she had the dignity to look a little ashamed of herself, something neither Louise nor Madeline appeared capable of.

-----

The two Gilmores stepped inside the house. They had just returned after dropping everyone else home and Lorelai had stayed true to her word, telling each parent exactly what their daughter had done. All three sets of parents, to their daughter's dismay, had taken the event seriously, promising that punishment was in order. Now Rory awaited her own.

Walking into the kitchen, Lorelai rubbed her eyes 'Rory, why did you do it?', she sounded as though she were pleading, begging Rory to offer a reasonable explanation. But Rory didn't know the right answer.

'I don't know, it... Louise and Madeline met these two guys and... I don't know, it was stupid'

'Madeline said you came out of a bedroom with some guy, did-'

'Nothing happened. I promise' Rory looked her mother in the eye, urging her to see that Rory wasn't lying.

'Okay, I believe you' Lorelai stepped closer and embraced her daughter 'what you did tonight. Rory, you have got to understand how worried I was, how scared I am that you are capable of pulling a stunt like this'

'It won't happen again'

'Okay' Lorelai let go of her daughter 'let's go to bed, I'm so tired now. Don't think you're off the hook though'

Rory gave a slight smile, fine to receive any type of punishment.

As soon as Lorelai headed towards the stairs Rory entered her own bedroom. After changing into her pyjamas and snuggling under the covers Rory found she couldn't sleep. Thoughts of Jess were still swirling around her head, the way his lips moved when he talked, his posture when he was leaned over her copy of _Anna Karenina._

Rory got out of bed and searched for her bag. Sure enough, inside was her book and Rory began flicking through the pages. Noticing the tiny scrawled up writing Rory got back into bed and began reading.

As it was with Jess's copy of _On the Road _she found she couldn't put it down. Despite having read the novel numerous times this version was different, but just as intriguing. Hours later, getting on for five in the morning Rory turned the page.

In larger writing, that was both bolded and underlined was,

_Tomorrow, 6:00pm, 917 768955._

-----

As per usual please review and make me happy. A special thank you to all those that reviewed last time, I love reading them!

I'm going home this weekend for the summer and may not have as much access to a computer. Therefore it may take me longer to update, however I've caught the fic writing bug and actually enjoy it so I'll definitely continue.


	5. Chapter 5

'... So other than the ending it's a really good book. All the characters are interesting and it just grips you. So what do you think? Do you want to borrow my copy? Dean?' Rory asked, finishing her fifteen minute debate with herself about the pro's and con's of _Captain Corelli's Mandolin._

Dean, meanwhile had been sitting opposite his girlfriend in Luke's diner silently wondering when Rory would finish. He loved spending time with Rory, she was smart, beautiful and generally fun to be around. Sure, sometimes she could be slightly odd, but that was just one of her quirks and personally Dean loved them. However, it was times like these when Dean couldn't help the nagging feeling that maybe he wasn't quite smart enough for her, or just generally not good enough for her.

'Couldn't we just rent the movie?' he asked, already picturing the pile of books in his room that Rory had given him. It's not that he didn't want to read them; he just didn't have the time, yet. 'You know, we could have a little movie night this evening'

'I can't. I've still got a ton of studying to do and preparation for tomorrows debate' It wasn't a lie, she did have studying to do but inside Rory knew the real reason she didn't want to make plans with Dean was due to her 6:00pm appointment. 'Anyway, we can't watch the film'

'Why not?'

'Because, the film version is a complete mockery of Louis De Béarnieres masterpiece. For starters they completely change the character of Mandras and then the ending is utterly different to that in the book'

Dean grinned 'but you don't like the ending'

'Still, they should keep it accurate. Honestly, out of all the film adaptations of classic books, this has got to be the worst' Rory concluded, frustrated at the chosen topic of conversation. That was another point that Dean loved, how passionate Rory was about certain things.

'Okay, so we don't watch that film. We'll find another one, still have our movie night' Dean attempted, hoping Rory would change her study plans and opt for an evening with her boyfriend.

'I told you, I have work to do'

'All night?'

'As long as it takes'

'You can't be working all evening. How about I come over after you've finished'

Rory contemplated this for a moment. Her phone call to Jess was early and realistically she couldn't talk for too long unless she wanted to confront her mother with the extremely expensive phone bill. Having Dean around was always nice and movie nights were always fun 'Okay, I'll call you when I've finished, then you can come over'

'Okay' Dean said, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek, happy to have reached a good outcome 'So what time do you think you'll be finished?'

'Dean!'

'Okay, okay, I'll wait for your call'

Rory glanced at her watch and noted the time 'If we want a movie night I'd better get going, try and get all my work done as soon as I can'

'Sure, see you later. Shall I rent _Captain Corelli's Mandolin?_' Dean called, as Rory made her way to the door.

'No!' and with that Rory left the diner and began to head home. Silently she prayed that Dean had heard her and would not rent the monstrosity. If she had to spend the evening watching Nicholas Cage attempt an Italian accent, Rory was sure she would ban Dean from ever entering her home again.

Entering the house Rory began contemplating what she would say to Jess. Would the conversation flow as naturally as it had last night? Or would the two of them spend it in an uncomfortable silence?, Should she plan some conversation topics in advance or would that make the discussion too wooden? No, preparation of that kind was too... Paris, Rory would just have to wait and hope for the best.

She wondered what Jess thought of _Captain Corelli's Mandolin._

-----

Jess walked down the streets of New York, guiding his way to the right phone booth. Last week the phone company had cut off their line due to the lack of Liz actually paying the bills. He hadn't minded much, it was classic Liz, completely irresponsible and incapable of holding together a household. The next day Jess had found a wad of bills stuffed in the freezer, what they were doing there he would never know but had decided to leave them. He didn't have enough money to pay himself and as Liz had pointed out: they hardly ever used the phone anyway.

Occasionally Liz would speak to her brother but Jess hadn't taken much notice, not even bothering to remember his name, Louis or Luke or something like that. Either way, Jess hadn't seen the man since very early childhood and it appeared Liz had no intention of visiting him. As usual, Jess couldn't find it in himself to care that much.

Only recently had the prospect of having no phone caused a problem. Sure Jess could have asked Rory for her number but that would have left him open to rejection, the two had hit it off at the party but Jess was completely aware that Rory was out of his league.

Giving Rory the number was putting the ball in her court. If she phoned him, then great. If she didn't, well Jess would rather not think about it. He still remembered the pang of hurt when Rory concluded that the two were unlikely to meet again so why make the effort.

With the phone box in view Jess quickened his step, his heart beat matching the same rhythm. He was so close and it was now 6:00pm, unfortunately New York was busy and Jess had to fight his way through the crowd in order to reach his destination.

He could now here the sound of ringing.

'Hello?'

Jess stopped. A man wearing a shaggy grey coat with a matching grizzly beard was currently talking into the earpiece.

'Hello? Yes I'm Jess, what can I do for ya?' The man had adopted a fake cockney accent and Jess had to reach forward to grab the phone off him.

'Rory?' He asked, determined to make sure it was her, vaguely hearing the man walking away muttering about how rude the youth of today were.

'Jess, is that really you this time?' Jess relaxed, the sound of Rory's timid voice comforting him 'Jess?'

'Yeah it's me'

'Thank god, who was that?'

'Oh, it was just some random guy' Jess murmured, slightly embarrassed to be talking in front of crowds of passing people.

'In your house? Jess where are you?'

'I'm outside at a phone booth' He wanted to move past this, discuss their similar interests not remark on how his family couldn't afford a phone.

'Why?'

Jess sighed, Rory seemed completely baffled. Her innocence had been something that Jess found fascinating, Rory was from a entirely different background, a place Jess had never visited yet wanted to learn about. Too bad he couldn't just open a book and discover it that way.

'Our Phone line was cut off, my mom forgot to pay it' Jess explained, lowering his voice. He didn't want Rory to know, would rather she couldn't hear. In Jess's mind, Rory lived in a grand house with a set of parents that loved her and no problems to face. Stars Hollow, yep, Rory was in a fairytale. While Jess experienced the harsh realities of life on a daily basis.

'Oh. That happened to us once, with our electricity. My mom misplaced the bill so a few days later, when we were in the middle of Golden Girls marathon, the TV suddenly switched off. My mom was so mad that she called up the electricity company and ranted to them for over two hours that we had in fact paid'

As Jess listened he could visualize the smile on Rory's face as she replayed her fond memory 'What did the company say?'

'They knew we hadn't paid so didn't let us completely off the hook. However, they were so tired and confused by what my mom was saying that they turned the electricity back on with the condition that we paid within the next week'

'So you got to finish the marathon?' Jess asked, contemplating the absurdity of how he was so engrossed with the conversation.

Rory sighed, disappointed 'No, by the time the TV was working again the marathon had finished. All we got to see was the end credits'

Jess chuckled, noting how Rory still appeared upset by this.

'Hey Jess?' Rory suddenly asked

'Yeah?'

'What did you think of the movie version of _Captain Corelli's Mandolin?'_

'What?!' Jess was taken aback at the random question, yet Rory had asked so seriously that he had to answer 'It was crap. Great book, but a complete waste of film'

'That's what I said!' Rory exclaimed excitedly.

'Excuse me?'

'Tonight we're having a movie night and my... my friend wanted to rent it. I said no, but I'm not entirely sure my point was heard' Rory explained.

Jess chuckled 'Movie night?'

'Yeah, er... it's kind of a tradition in the Gilmore household' Rory's voice had calmed down, resuming to its original pitch 'I know, it sounds boring but it's not. We have fun, eat tons of junk food and relentlessly mock the movie'

'Then _Captain Corelli's Mandolin_ sounds perfect, if you like to mock'

'No, there are bad films that can still be fun and then there are those that make me want scream'

'Gotcha' All day Jess had considered what he would say to Rory. He had both highly anticipated it and dreaded it, yet now, discussing movie nights and mocking Jess felt truly comfortable.

'You know, if you ever happen to be in Stars Hollow for some unknown reason, you should come by for a movie night.' Rory said, somewhat awkwardly, mirroring Jess's previous fear of rejection.

'Really?'

'Yeah, all you need to do is bring gallons of coffee and a sufficient supply of junk food and my mom will allow you across the threshold'.

'So what movie are you guys gonna watch tonight?' Jess asked, all the while thrilled with the knowledge of being invited over to the Gilmores. He couldn't go, for obvious reasons, but it was still nice to be invited. He'd never really experienced, nor had a particular desire to, a quiet night in surrounded by friends and family. Yet Rory's offer was appealing.

'I'm not sure, my mom's gonna pick one... can you hang on a sec?' Rory asked, slightly irritated at being disturbed. Faintly in the background Jess had heard the sound of a door bell.

'Yeah sure'

Pushing his ear against the phone Jess tried to drown out any background noise to focus solely on what was happening in Stars Hollow.

----

Holding the phone in her hand Rory headed towards the door, curious to know who was there. Her mom had a key and they weren't expecting anyone, unless...

'Dean?' Rory asked, opening to front door.

'Hey' he said, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

'What are you doing here?' She couldn't help the slight resentment clear in her voice, she had remembered specifically telling Dean that she would call him.

'Movie night' edging past Rory Dean headed towards the living room and began unbuttoning his jacket.

'But.. I didn't call you yet'

'I know, when I was finishing my shift at the market I saw your mom come in. She said you were just finishing up and that she had come out to get supplies and pick the movies'

'Oh'

'Yeah, she got into an argument with Taylor, apparently your lawn is growing over the height limit or something... anyway, she told me to pick the movie and said she'll meet us back here' Dean said casually before noticing the phone in Rory's hand 'Hey, were you talking to someone?'

Rory glanced at the phone remembering that Jess was still on the line 'Yeah, it was just Lane'. Rory knew she shouldn't be lying, but for some reason she knew Dean wouldn't exactly be ecstatic if he found out that Rory was talking to another guy, let alone someone she had only recently met at a New York party of all places.

'Ok, I'll just wait here if you wanna finish' Dean said, sitting down on the couch.

'I'll be right back' Heading towards her bedroom Rory shut the door behind her 'Jess?'

No answer, all she could here was the dial-tone.

Walking back out into the living room Rory sat down next to her boyfriend.

'What film did you rent?'

'_Captain Corelli's Mandolin'_

--------

A/N: Okay, so I'm kinda angry at myself for leaving it so long, especially since this chapter is not all that exciting. I've just been feeling a little uninspired recently and haven't pushed myself to do a lot. The second half of this has only been read through once so there may still be errors lurking, but I figured that if I didn't post this now I'll probably end up leaving it for another week.

All your reviews have been absolutely lovely, so thank you. Hopefully the next update won't take to long, the only problem is that what goes on in my head is different to what I end up writing. Originally the ending wasn't going to happen like this and now I'm not entirely sure how Jess and Rory will meet again. So far it's only Rory that's has a way of contacting Jess and the number is for a random phone box *sigh*. If anyone has any suggestions, please tell me.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Rory watched in silence as the credits rolled up. For two hours she had had to endure the worst impersonation of an Italian accent that she had ever heard, all the while longing to attempt another phone call to Jess. Not that she expected to have much luck seeing as it was a public phone booth number, but she could at least try. This however was prevented by her boyfriends' insistence over a movie night.

Noticing the bored expressions on both Gilmore's, Dean attempted to break the silence 'It wasn't that bad. Was it?'

'It would have been better if Carlos hadn't taken a bullet for Corelli' Lorelai stated.

Dean just chuckled nervously, he was more concerned by Rory's lack of mocking throughout the film. He knew she wasn't a particular fan of the movie but had hoped that she would find something to laugh at. Instead she sat there quietly, throwing a dark shadow over the entire evening. Dean was sure Lorelai had noticed to and believed that she -like him- wanted to know the reason behind Rory's brooding.

'So… I should probably go. School night' Dean added as an excuse for his abrupt departure

At that Lorelai stood up 'I'll show you out'

'Rory?' At the sound of her name Rory finally acknowledged her companions.

'Oh, bye Dean' She said to her boyfriend before turning on her mother 'I'm gonna go to bed'

Lorelai watched Rory head in the direction of her bedroom before walking Dean to the door 'Hey Dean, is everything alright between the two of you? I don't mean to pry but as a mother I do grow concerned'

'I think so. I don't know, we were fine this morning but now…' Dean looked stumped 'I know she said she didn't like the film, if that's what she's mad about-'

'Dean! I hardly think Rory would be that upset over a movie. Even if it is a Nicolas Cage film' Lorelai seemed to think for a moment, contemplating Rory's behaviour over the last few days. The only thing that came to mind was the concert and the party afterwards, the same party where she met some guy. Lorelai doubted Rory had told Dean about this. 'You know, we were up late last night for the concert and I don't think Rory got that much sleep, she's probably just tired. I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow'.

'Ok, I guess I'll talk to Rory tomorrow then. Bye Lorelai'

'Bye' With that Lorelai closed the door and headed in the direction of Rory's bedroom. When she entered Rory was climbing under the covers with a book: _Anna Karenina._ 'So, what was with the cold shoulder?' she asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rory lowered her book and Lorelai couldn't help noticing that the margins where clogged up with notes. Rory usually liked to keep her books in as pristine condition as she possibly could.

'Cold shoulder?'

'Yeah, the entire movie you were quiet and seemed a bit… distressed. Is everything okay?' Loreali asked, giving Rory the opportunity to bear all.

'Everything's fine' After noticing that Lorelai wasn't going to leave it at that Rory sighed 'I told Dean specifically not to rent that movie, but he just ignored me'

'So you really are worked up over a film?'

'Well no. Its just, I'm not entirely sure that me and Dean are as great together as everyone thinks we are'.

Lorelai couldn't help the frown that appeared on her face, since when had Rory been having doubts about her relationship? Last time Lorelai had checked Rory and Dean had been completely infatuated with each other. Memories of the New York party guy resurfaced, so was Rory having doubts because she'd met a new guy? Lorelai sincerely hoped not, she rather hoped that Rory would soon forget about him.

'And you realised this because of a movie? Wow, I should give Nicolas Cage more credit if he's powerful enough to give you an insight into your love life' Lorelai attempted to keep the conversation light-hearted.

'Its nothing to do with the film!' Rory snapped, obviously not amused that her own mother wasn't taking this seriously 'The movie was just a contributing factor'.

Lorelai held her hands up in mock defeat 'Okay, Okay, sorry. It's just, Dean has been a great, amazing even, first boyfriend to you. He seems to really care about you, so just give him a chance will you?'

Rory seemed to consider before finally agreeing. 'Okay, yeah your right. I'll talk to him and apologize tomorrow'

'Okay, night girlie-girl' Lorelai said before standing up, ready to leave.

'Night'

As soon as Lorelai left the room Rory picked her book up again. She stared for a moment at the margin notes before deciding to try and fall asleep instead.

Her mom was right, Dean had been amazing. He was caring and sweet and Rory was certainly lucky. Jess on the other hand, well, Rory liked him but didn't really know him. All together she had spent one evening with him and one phone call, and it seemed very unlikely that she would ever see or hear from him again.

-----------

Entering the New York apartment, Jess threw down his jacket on the moth-eaten sofa. He had been wandering aimlessly around the city for little over two hours before deciding to give up (give up what, he didn't know) and go home.

Quickly sensing that he was alone, Jess strolled into the kitchen and read the post-it note on the fridge confirming that not only was Liz indeed out for the night but that she had also left food in the fridge. The fact that Liz had remembered Jess needed feeding told him one thing: that Liz had a new boyfriend. Every time a new guy was on the scene, Liz would suddenly try to domesticate herself. She would do grocery shopping and attempt to clean the apartment; she even bothered to ask Jess about his day at school. In essence, Liz believed that with the right guy everything would settle in place and together the three of them would form a loving family.

The reality however, was much different. The guys Liz usually fell for weren't exactly 'family-men' and were frequently scared away, leaving Liz a sobbing mess wondering what had gone wrong. She would fall back into her old ways until the next guy came along and the cycle would start again. It was a vicious circle that had been in play for as long as Jess could remember, he certainly didn't expect it to end soon.

After contemplating whether or not he was hungry, Jess decided the best course of action was to just fall asleep. However, as soon as his head hit the pillow Jess was confronted with the very thoughts he had tried to keep at bay for the last few hours. Thoughts of one: Rory Gilmore.

Still confused over what had happened, Jess now let his mind wonder. Rory had said the doorbell had rang and had proceeded to answer, that part was clear. However, despite Jess's best efforts he hadn't been able to depict what had happened next. It was certainly a male at the door but what was his relation to Rory? He could have been her father or brother… but they wouldn't have needed to ring the bell surely, did Rory even have a brother? It bugged Jess that he only knew very little amounts of information concerning Rory.

Of course there was the option that the guy had been her boyfriend. It was a plausible suggestion, but Jess wasn't particularly fond of it. The idea left an unfamiliar twisting sensation in his gut, but why? Jess had only known the girl for a few days and had no claim whatsoever over her. Unable to regain Rory's attention over the phone along with a surge of jealousy had led to Jess hanging up. Only moments later had he actually realised that by ending the phone call he had also severed his only way of contacting Rory. Jess didn't know her phone number and Rory only had that of a random phone booth within New York city.

He had waited in vain to see if Rory would call back but an hour later had reached the conclusion that it was unlikely. It had been this moment that Jess had begun his wander around the city.

Closing his eyes, Jess attempted to forget all about the Gilmore girl, eventually falling into a slumber.

-------------

'… Unmatched in his gift for language, Shakespeare created legendary characters and dramatic moments which have inspired audiences…'

Somewhere in the background Rory could hear Mr Medina droning on about Shakespeare, a topic she knew would appear on the mid-term next week. Despite that knowledge and Rory's usual craving to achieve the highest marks possible, she just couldn't find herself able to pay the full amount of attention required.

Looking around the classroom at the sea of Chilton uniforms, Rory noticed that numerous amounts of pens were swiftly moving across paper as the students struggled to take down every last drop of information. Rory almost did a double-take when she finally noticed Paris on the other side of the classroom, not only was she writing so furiously that the paper was beginning to rip but also she had be true to her word the other night: Paris's face seemed to have broken out into a nasty looking rash. How Rory hadn't noticed earlier was beyond her, the only reason she could think of was that, this morning Rory had woken up with the desire to track down Jess. The idea hadn't left her mind since.

Rory jumped slightly as the bell rang indicating that class was dismissed and that Rory had wasted an hour. Not only had she learnt nothing, but had also not been able to concoct a reasonable plan as to how to find Jess. Slowly, Rory packed up her things and headed out towards her locker.

'Here'

Rory turned around as she felt a prodding against her back. Paris was now standing directly in front of Rory holding a pile of sheets in front of her. When Rory didn't act she simply rolled her eyes.

'They're my notes from Mr Medina's class, I couldn't help notice that you weren't paying attention'

'Oh, thanks Paris'. Rory took the notes and began placing them in her bag.

'I'll need them back before the end of the day. So you'd better copy it all down at lunch'

Rory couldn't help but smile, glad that the concert seemed to have created some kind of friendship between the two girls.

'So what? Where you dreaming about your boyfriend or something?' Paris's voice snapped.

'Huh?'

Paris sighed 'I'm just wondering what was so important that you ignored possibly one of our most important lectures this term'.

'Oh'. Both girls began walking through the hall towards they're next class.

'So, were you?' Paris prompted, growing frustrated at the lack of information Rory was divulging.

'Was I what?'

'Dreaming of your boyfriend during Mr Medina's class. Gee Gilmore, you're really slow today' Paris gave another roll of her eyes.

'No, I wasn't'.

'So what was it then?'

Rory contemplated her answer for a while. Normally she would talk to her mother about things like this, but Rory knew exactly what Lorelai would think. Lorelai was firmly on team Dean and would most likely want Rory to forget all about Jess, already believing that he was bad news. Paris however, had seen Jess and probably could tell that he wasn't really dangerous. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to ask for another opinion.

'You remember the party on Saturday?' Rory cautiously asked.

Paris indicated towards her face 'How could I forget'. It was obvious that Paris blamed they're late night for her current skin condition.

'Well, you remember Jess?'

'Been doing the dirty on poor farmer John?' Paris remarked with a knowing smirk.

'No!' Rory stated horrified, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

Paris snorted at Rory's reaction 'Calm down Gilmore or I'll start to think that Tristan is right with his nickname for you, Mary'.

Rory's outburst had attracted the attention of surrounding students so she lowered her voice 'Me and Jess are just friends and I no longer have a way of contacting him. I don't know how to find him'

Paris raised her eyebrows 'You barely know him.' She paused for a second before muttering to herself 'Fine, It seems I'm still the only one in Chilton who actually has any brains and here I was worried that you might have been a formidable opponent'.

'What are you-' Rory began but was cut off by Paris calling down the hall.

'LOUISE!'

Paris stalked down the hall with Rory following close at her heels towards Louise and Madeline. Both girls were currently in front of an open locker retouching their lip-gloss. At the approach of Paris and Rory both girls stopped what they were doing and turned around.

'What?' Louise asked.

'I was wondering if you still had the phone number to the guy you were with on Saturday night?'

'You mean Sean?' Louise confirmed 'Why? He's kinda more my type than yours Paris'

Deciding to ignore Louise's last remark Paris got straight to it 'He had a friend called Jess that Rory wants to get in contact with, we want you to phone Sam-'

'Sean!' Louise corrected.

'- and see if he'll find Jess's number'

At Paris request, both girls turned on Rory. Once again she could feel a flush of embarrassment at being centre of attention for something that wasn't academically orientated.

'So, you want Jess's number?' Louise asked, smirking slightly at how uncomfortable Rory clearly was.

'He was very cute' Madeline imputed.

'Umm, yeah' Rory muttered rather shyly.

'Okay, I'll see what I can do. I would phone now but my parents confiscated my cell phone as part of my punishment for Saturday'

'Mine grounded me till Christmas 2012' Madeline stated, looking as though she truly believed the punishment would follow through.

'Thanks Louise' Rory said before walking away, leaving both Louise and Madeline to debate over which had received the worst punishment off their parents. Rory couldn't help but be slightly thankful that Lorelai seemed to have let her off.

All Rory could now do was wait till tomorrow to see if Louise had found anything out. Surely Sean would have some way of contacting Jess and could reunite the two off them. Hoping for the best, Rory headed towards her next class.

--------

The sound of banging roused Jess from his sleep. Groggily he glanced at the clock and noticed that it was in fact noon, which meant that he was three hours late for school- a perfect excuse not to bother going. Usually Jess tried to be out during school hours in an attempt to throw Liz off the fact that he rarely ever attended, she was aware he played truant but if Jess tried to hide the fact then she could turn a blind eye. Occasionally she would press him into taking his education seriously but had resigned to the fact that Jess would ignore the advice years ago.

Standing up, Jess began dressing until he realise that the banging wasn't stopping and that it was in fact coming from his front door. The Mariano household rarely ever drew visitors, especially during the day so Jess believed the only person it could be was Liz and that she had forgotten or lost her key. It was a regular occurrence and Jess couldn't count the number of times he had returned home to find Liz sitting in the hallway waiting for him, once for six hours.

Opening the door Jess quickly noticed that in fact the visitor was actually one of Liz's friends, a frequent visitor to the apartment for Friday night Poker games. From the few times Jess had met her he had been privy to the fact that she was a rather emotional and hysterical woman who usually broke down in tears over the slightest thing. Jess knew this because she had once thrown her arms around him in a fit of tears rambling about how he reminded her of her ex-husband and to be careful he never grew up like Steve. Today seemed no exception to her hysterics.

'Oh Jess, darling!' she exclaimed throwing her arms around the surely teenager.

Prying the woman- he couldn't quite remember her name- away from him he began 'Liz isn't here at the mo-'

'Oh I know, I know. Quite tragic really' The woman said, inviting her way further into the apartment.

Jess looked longingly at the open door before shutting it and following into the living room.

'Jess honey, you might want to take a seat'.

Wincing at the term of endearment Jess begrudgingly took a seat on the sofa, all the while remaining silent.

He was curious to know what had happened to Liz but Jess doubted it was anything remotely terrible. After all, this woman had a tendency to exaggerate.

'Now… I don't want to alarm you but I've just received a call from your mother' She began, looking as though she were fighting back tears 'Anyway, Liz has just told me that…'

----------

A/N: Howdy y'all. So, I hope people haven't lost interest with this story as I really do like writing it. I've just had very limited time all summer, I haven't read anything in ages either.

Anyway, I do have a direction for the story and have wrote the Jess scenes for the next chapter. It's just Rorys that take me a while. Hopefully due to this, it won't be too long till the next update, I'll probably be back to updating more regularly come the end of September when I return to Uni.

Anyway, thanks to all those that reviewed last time J


	7. Chapter 7

Everything I Wanted- Chapter 7.

'Jess, honey, you might want to take a seat.'

Wincing at the term of endearment, Jess begrudgingly took a seat on the sofa, all the while remaining silent.

Although curious to know what had happened to Liz, he didn't really believe it was anything remotely terrible. After all, this woman had a tendency to exaggerate.

'Now… I don't want to alarm you but I've just received a call from your mother,' she began, looking as though she were fighting back tears. 'Anyway, Liz has just told me that earlier on today she was arrested by the police.'

'What?!' Originally Jess had decided that whatever this woman told him wasn't going to be a big deal, but the idea of his own mother arrested? It was too much. Liz was a bit of a flake and by no means completely innocent, but she'd never do anything terrible.

'Well, you've met the new boyfriend I assume?' Liz's friend asked, somewhat sheepishly, already knowing that Jess hadn't.

'No.' Jess sighed and leant back on the sofa. Of course: the boyfriend. Jess wasn't aware how long the relationship had been going, but he doubted it had been long enough to justify Liz falling for one of his tricks. 'What did this one do?'

'Actually, he didn't really do much,' Liz's friend answered in the vaguest way possible. 'He's unemployed.'

Jess rolled his eyes and waited for a broader explanation.

'He met your mother a couple of weeks ago when he came into the diner.'

Liz had finally found a new job a couple of months ago. It was a grotty diner a couple of blocks away from the apartment. It wasn't perfect but it paid, and despite Jess's protests Liz insisted the food wasn't actually that bad. He hadn't shown it, but Jess had been secretly thrilled when Liz not only secured a job but held onto it for over a month.

'He was dreamy, and so sweet to Liz. I'm surprised she never mentioned to you how infatuated they were with each other.' She paused for a moment, a wistful expression upon her face. 'Well, Liz told me that he was about to be evicted from his apartment unless he came up with the rent so naturally, Liz decided to help. It seems she's been taking money from the cash register for the last few days, and of course, today the diner owner figured it out.'

Jess was reeling. He couldn't believe his mother would actually do this for some guy she barely knew. They scarcely had enough to support themselves and now Liz was helping to support another household! He wasn't sure whether to be angry with his mother or the boyfriend. 'Where's the guy?' he finally asked through gritted teeth.

'I don't know. When Liz phoned from the police station she asked me to go and find him but when I got to his apartment he was gone - all his stuff was packed up.'

Great; so he'd done a runner. This boyfriend had taken the money and left, leaving Liz to pick up the pieces and deal with the consequences.

'Jess, honey, do you want a lift to the station?'

Jess merely shrugged as a form of acceptance.

--------

Early on, Rory had decided that having Chilton friends wasn't necessary. Sure she had no desire to create enemies and was always friendly to her class mates, but Rory felt she didn't need any close friends. Already the pride and joy of Stars Hollow, having a close relationship with her mother and the life-long friendship with Lane was quite enough for her.

However, the last couple of days had given Rory a new perspective. Neither girls had remarked on their new relationship but there was a mutual feeling that the rivalry between Paris and Rory had been put aside. No longer did Rory have to eat lunch alone or wait to see who was left over when pairing up in class. In fact, the last couple of days, Rory had had quite an enjoyable time at school.

However the main benefit to her new friendship was the idea of being brought closer to Jess. Not only had Rory failed to consider Louise, but also knew if she had, she would have been too embarrassed to ask herself. It hadn't come to anything quite yet, but Rory was almost certain that tomorrow morning Louise would arrive with a means of contacting Jess. After all, Sean and Jess were close, weren't they?

Hopping off the bus with a slight spring in her step, Rory almost collided head first with a cup of coffee. Standing tall, with said coffee in his hands was Dean bearing what Rory could only describe as a smug grin. Obviously someone had been up all night reading the manual on how to get back in a Gilmore girl's good graces.

Rory inwardly sighed. It shouldn't be Dean making the effort. In fact, he hadn't really done anything wrong and her mother had been right: Rory had been over reacting. It was just a movie.

Noticing Rory's frown, Dean's face fell. 'Look, I'm really sorry about last night, I didn't realise-'

'Dean,' Rory cut in, no longer able to take Dean's unnecessary apology, 'you didn't do anything wrong. It was just me. I was having a bad day and blamed it all on you. I'm sorry'.

'I brought you coffee,' Dean said, a wave of calm washing over as he realised that his relationship was still intact.

'So I see.' Rory smiled, before standing on her tip-toes to give Dean a quick peck on the lips. Taking the coffee, she linked arms with her boyfriend and allowed him to steer her towards home.

The two walked through the streets of Stars Hollow looking every bit the perfect, loved-up couple.

'So, you never really told me - how was the concert?' Dean asked. 'Neither you nor your mom talked about it much last night. I expected the two of you to explain every last detail.'

Rory remained quiet for a second, trying to figure out the best way to answer the question. 'It was good. The band was great. I think my mom and Sookie had a great time.' Until the end when they thought they'd lost us, she silently added.

'And you?' Dean prompted.

'What I saw was amazing, but honestly, Madeline and Louise wanted to bail and I kind of ended up following.' Rory knew she couldn't lie. Her mom would surely bring it up sometime. Anyway, what was the point of keeping it a secret?

'What?! You went with them? Where?' Dean sounded more surprised then anything else. It was to be expected; what had happened on Saturday night was certainly not typical Rory Gilmore behaviour.

'To a party. At the concert there were these two guys who Madeline and Louise really liked and they invited us. I didn't want to go and neither did Paris, but it was better than letting them go alone and get lost or something. They drank way too much and there was no way either of them could have made their way back on their own.' Rory spoke quickly, sounding as though she were being interrogated, rather than talking to her boyfriend.

Dean just chuckled.

'What's so funny?' Rory had expected a more jealous response. She certainly knew that any mention of her evening with Jess would bring out those colours.

'It's just you. I'm sorry, but I can't imagine you at a New York party,' Dean said, a bemused smile still present.

'Neither could I,' Rory murmured.

Dean just pulled her closer to his side and walked the remaining street to Rory's home. The whole way, Rory couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. Technically she hadn't lied- in fact she'd told nothing but the truth…the edited version, but the truth nonetheless. Somehow though, she figured if Dean was told anything about Jess, he would flip.

--------

After grunting a thanks to Liz's friend - who he'd found out was called Theresa - he stepped into the police station and headed towards the front desk. A woman in uniform was standing there looking over a pile of documents. As Jess stepped into her view she lowered the sheets of paper.

'Can I help you with anything?' she asked. Looking Jess up and down it was obvious she had already placed him in the group of troubled teenagers who were regularly brought in for various degrees of trouble-making.

'My mom was brought in earlier. Liz Danes?'

'Hold on a moment,' she said, before disappearing through a back door.

As Jess waited he couldn't help but think that he'd always assumed this moment would be the other way around. He'd imagined so many times that sooner or later it would be him brought in by the police and Liz coming to collect. So far, Jess hadn't done anything bad enough.

'You can go and see your mother soon,' the woman said, glaring at Jess disdainfully. 'Wait out here till we tell you.'

Jess sat in silence, letting the sound around him fall into a faint buzz. Aware that the woman would occasionally throw him dirty looks, he tried to ignore it and think of what would happen next. He wondered how much exactly Liz had taken and how much the boyfriend had run away with. Hopefully if it wasn't a lot, Liz would be allowed to go home soon; she'd lose her job, but at least she'd be home.

But then what if she didn't come home with Jess? Would he have to support himself? Jess wasn't against having a job and even took a few on quite regularly. In fact, it had happened more than once that Jess covered the household bills when Liz forgot to pay them, but mostly, he worked because he liked having spare cash to spend on books and music. Jess had never wanted for much, but he did like his little indulgences.

If this did leave him on his own, he'd probably have to give up school; hardly something he'd cry over.

'You can come through now,' a voice said, breaking Jess out of his thoughts. Standing up he followed a woman through the station to a smaller room at the back and after an unnecessary search, he was finally able to sit opposite his mother.

'Jess, sweetie, I'm so glad you came!' Liz began, almost cheerful as though she had invited Jess over for tea and was simply greeting her guest.

Deciding to cut straight to the chase Jess asked, 'Did they say when you'll get out of here?'

'I don't know. Soon I'd expect. It'll all blow over.'

'Mom!' Jess shouted, irritated by Liz's attitude. 'This is serious. At best you'll have lost your job. I don't even know what the worst is.'

Liz waved her arms, showing just how little she was concerned by this. 'I was too good for that place. They didn't appreciate me.'

Jess snorted. 'So you got back at them by taking their money?' In all fairness, Jess had done his share of theft. Not that Liz knew, mostly because Jess had never been stupid enough to get caught or take anything of value.

'It wasn't for me, it was for a friend. I was doing a good thing,' Liz reasoned.

'I doubt the diner will see it that way.'

'I'm sure if Phil gives the money back they'll let me go.'

'And how is that going to happen? In case you didn't know, Phil took off,' Jess informed her, bitterly. He was fed up with his moms naïveté's. Naivety was cute on girls like Rory. Liz though- she needed to gain some perspective.

Rory… The drama with Liz had forced Jess to momentarily forget about the girl. He doubted she'd want to get to know him when she found out about his mother.

'What do mean Phil's gone? Where?' Liz was asking, scared. It seemed that the news of her boyfriend's departure had sobered Liz up. Now she was genuinely worried.

'I don't know. Your friend went around to see him, but all his stuff had gone,' Jess muttered.

'But he needed to money for rent. Why would he take the money if he wasn't going to stay?'

Jess didn't answer. He didn't really like being the one to shatter Liz's illusions. Instead he'd let her figure out her boyfriend was a jerk on her own.

'So what now?' Liz finally asked. Again, Jess didn't have an answer.

'How much did you give him?' Jess asked meekly, afraid of the answer.

'Oh, erm, I'm not really sure. It was spread out over a few days.' Liz looked away, not wanting to divulge the information.

'You do know.'

'I guess, it was over a thousand, give or take a few hundred.' Noticing the look of outrage on Jess's face Liz tried to find excuses. 'He had a couple of months rent still to pay and I wanted him to be secure for a while.'

'You said that it was over a few days! How didn't you realise that the diner would count their cash and notice that hundreds were mysteriously disappearing every night?'

Liz didn't answer.

The two sat in silence, both contemplating their futures while attempting to formulate a plan. Finally Liz seemed to have a vague idea.

'In my bedside table there's an address book. Your Uncle Luke's number should be in there. Call him'

'Why?' They hadn't seen the guy since Jess was a child. What made Liz think he would help them now?

'Because, he's my big brother!' Liz said as though that was all the reason she needed.

--------

Rory had sat at home all evening. Her homework had been completed hours ago and despite the need for food she hadn't quite been able to drag herself away from the couch where the phone was nestled at her side.

She'd been hoping that either Louise would call with information about Jess, or that she would have given her number to Jess for him to call himself. Either way, neither had happened yet. Rory still had no idea why he'd hung up the phone in the first place. Her mind had originally jumped to the conclusion that Jess no longer wanted to see her but if that was the case, why hadn't he just said? He had seemed perfectly fine on the phone. Thinking about it more thoroughly she'd reached two more logical conclusions: one was that Jess had simply run out of change, and the other, that when Rory had answered the door Jess assumed she'd already hung up the phone.

While she sat staring blankly at the cooking show that was currently showing on the T.V, Lorelai waltzed straight through the front door.

'Ok, I'm home! What do you want to do for dinner? Luke's or takeaway?' As she waited for an answer, Lorelai looked at the TV screen. 'Unless you feel like cooking tonight. What is that anyway?'

'Beef Kheemer mutter.'

Lorelai scrunched up her nose. 'That's not even real food. I vote burgers from Luke's, so get your coat.'

Knowing that when her mother made her mind up about dinner it was best to not disagree, Rory stood up and went off in search of her coat.

Noticing the phone still left on the couch Lorelai called out, 'You not heard anything from Dean? I hope you're not wallowing by the phone waiting for his call? Surely I raised you to have a little more pride than that!'

'No.' Rory came out of her room. 'Actually we talked after school and everything's fine.'

'Really? Ah, that's so great. I knew you crazy kids would work it out eventually. Come on, I'm so starving I could eat a horse,' she said, leading the way through the front door. 'But that would be weird…'

----------

Standing by the payphone he had once called Rory from, Jess dialed the number to his uncle's home. He expected that this would get him nowhere; that as soon as he explained the situation, he would be hung up on. Never in a million years would Jess have actually thought that this uncle would care in the slightest.

Liz had obviously felt differently. She'd remained completely insistent that Jess call her big brother. The only reason he'd agreed, was that no other option was available.

Patiently he waited till a gruff male voice on the other side of the line answered, 'Luke's!'

In the background Jess could hear various other people. It seemed the diner was currently busy. 'Hi, it's Jess Mariano,' he said hesitantly, wondering if Luke would even recognize the name.

'Jess? Hi! Wow, why are you calling me?' Thankfully he didn't seem angry, instead curious and perhaps a little surprised, not that Jess could blame him.

'My mom, Liz...is kinda in a bit of trouble…'

----------

Stepping into Luke's diner, the Gilmores immediately noticed two things: one, the diner was so crowded that the only seats remaining were at the counter; and two, the reason for this seemed to be that Luke was presently wrapped within the cord of his own phone, holding a plate of fries and speaking in hushed tones down the speaker.

Taking their seats, the girls were able to eavesdrop on Luke's side of the conversation.

'Why? Why would she do this?' Luke had raised his voice, his angry tone causing silence in the diner.

'Psst, Kirk?' Lorelai asked in whisper leaning back in her stool to reach Kirk's table. 'What's going on with Luke?'

'I'm not really sure. About half an hour ago Luke received a call and hasn't put the phone down since. I tried offering my services as a waiter but was denied. My fries where also held at ransom.'

'Ransom?'

'Apparently when Luke's on the phone he doesn't appreciate the sound of my voice. I'm supposed to keep quiet.'

'…Boy I tell you, if I ever get my hands on this Phil…' Luke continued, seemingly talking to himself rather than to the person on the other end of the phone.

'Who's Phil?' Rory asked her mother in a hushed tone. Their proximity to Luke was rather close and neither girl wanted to be caught talking while Luke was this angry.

'I don't know. I didn't even know Luke had other friends.'

'Well I doubt they're friends, judging by the conversation.'

'Yeah, but whose he talking to? Everyone from Stars Hollow is currently in the diner and it doesn't seem as though any of them are on a phone at the moment,' Lorelai observed, glancing around the room while doing a check of who was currently in the diner. 'Huh. Very suspicious...'

'What?'

'Andrew's not here.'

'So?'

'So - what if Luke's on the phone to Andrew?' Lorelai started, seemingly pleased with her evidence.

'Why would Luke be on the phone to Andrew, threatening some guy called Phil?' Rory asked, bemused.

'Maybe they're in a gang together.'

'Luke? In a gang?'

'Stranger things have happened my friend,' Lorelai finished off, before noticing that Luke's voice had grown quieter and he was now giving instructions.

'Right, I'll come up as soon as possible. You stay where you are and we'll sort this mess out as soon as I arrive.' He paused, listening to the other side of the conversation. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

Hanging up, Luke turned around to be met with the curious faces of the majority of Stars Hollow.

'Going on a little trip are we?' Lorelai asked, making it her business to know all the details.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything I Wanted- 8

After a promise to see Jess the next day Luke hung up the phone, only to be confronted with a diner full of curious expressions; all of which were aimed directly at him.

'Going on a little trip are we?' Lorelai asked, making it her business to know the details.

Deciding to ignore the question, Luke stared at the crowd, his anger at Phil suddenly resurfacing. 'All of you, back to your food,' he ordered, before turning around to refill the coffee pots. Soon enough, the diner was full of conversation as people finished their meal.

'Luke? Lukey?!' Lorelai raised her voice, her arm outstretched in an attempt to tap Luke's shoulder.

'What? You want some coffee?' he asked.

Lorelai looked from Luke to the coffee pot, seemingly confused by the question. 'Yes, but no.'

'So you don't want coffee?'

'I do, it's just that wasn't what I was going to ask.'

'Well you usually do so you can see how I'd be confused.'

'Well, this time is different.'

Before Luke could respond Rory cut into the conversation, determined to end it. 'Luke? Where are you going on your trip tomorrow?'

Lorelai clapped her hands, the question bringing her back to the earlier discussion. 'Ooh, is it somewhere sunny? You are starting to look a little pale.'

'My sister needs help,' Luke stated bluntly. Taking a spare mug he poured Lorelai a cup of coffee as though it were any other day.

'You have a sister?' Lorelai exclaimed.

'Oh, is that Liz you're talking about?' Jumping into the conversation was one Miss Patty. Known around town for supplying the best gossip, she made sure that whenever something happened she was the first one to the scene of the crime. Today was no different. Her interest in the lives of others was reason enough that if anyone knew Luke had a sister it was Miss Patty.

'Who's Liz?' Lorelai asked, now turning her attention to the intruding woman.

'Luke's sister.'

'You knew Luke had a sister?'

'Of course! She grew up here. Such a troublesome young woman… well, she wasn't a bad girl but occasionally she got caught up in… let's say: odd circumstances.' Miss Patty tilted her head in reminiscence.

Lorelai turned back to Luke, her head spinning with the idea of how little she knew about the man who had fed her for the last few years. 'Why did you never tell me you had a sister?'

'You never asked,' Luke replied simply.

'Did you know he had a sister?' Lorelai asked her daughter.

'No.'

'Why did I not know?' Lorelai asked looking around the diner as through the answer were to suddenly pop up from behind someone's chair.

Returning to her hunt for gossip Miss Patty suddenly lowered her voice, wanting to be the first to know. 'What's the matter with her Luke, dear?'

'Oh, she just had a little boyfriend trouble and wants me to visit her,' was the vague reply she received.

'Really, what happened?'

Not wanting his family's dirty laundry aired around the small town of Stars Hollow, Luke went for the obvious tactic: evasion. 'I don't really know the details.'

'Oh… Well make sure you tell us when you get back.' Put out from the lack of information, Miss Patty turned to leave. Although a usual mastermind in the art of gossiping, she knew that Luke was a closed book. Anyone who had lived in this town for more than a day understood that Luke was a bit of a loner and an extremely private person.

Despite this knowledge, Miss Patty knew that if Luke would open up to anyone it was Lorelai. It quickly became a plan to ambush the eldest Gilmore on her way home. Anyway, with Luke's ability to avoid town events it was about time he contributed something to Stars Hollow and information into the gossip mill was the perfect solution.

As soon as Miss Patty had officially left the building, Lorelai once again faced Luke, noticing that he had begun cleaning the surface, obviously believing the conversation was over. How wrong he was… 'I take it Phil's the boyfriend?'

Sharply turning around, Luke stared at Lorelai. 'How do you know who Phil is?'

'You were pretty loud on the phone and the diner was very silent. Trust me, it wasn't very hard to eavesdrop.' Lorelai chuckled, amused by the look of shock horror upon Luke's face.

'What did he do?' Rory asked.

'Let's just say Liz doesn't have the best track record in boyfriends. She goes from one loser to the next, but Phil… Well let's just say he takes the prize. Can't do his own dirty work so he gets Liz to do it for him and now she's taking the blame.'

'Wow, what did she do?' Lorelai inquired, thoroughly intrigued.

Luke sighed. 'Jess said she's been stealing money from work to help pay his rent.'

At the name, Rory glanced upwards. The news of Luke's sister had momentarily made Rory forget about the favour she had asked of Louise. Surely this wasn't just a coincidence? 'Jess?'.

'Liz's kid,' Luke responded with a shrug.

Lorelai stepped in. 'She has a kid? How old?'

'About a year older than Rory. I haven't seen either of them in years and now this-' Luke paused before looking around the diner. 'I'd better get back to the customers. I'll have Caesar open the diner up for the next few days.'

With that, he left the counter and made his way through the tables towards a couple who were still waiting to be served.

As soon as Luke was out of ear-shot, Rory turned to her mother. Thoughts of Jess mixed in with her concern over Luke. 'Wow, can you believe that? Poor Luke.'

'I still can't believe we never knew Luke had a sister or a niece,' Lorelai said, turning back to her coffee.

'Niece?' Rory inquired.

Lorelai gave her daughter a look that asked whether or not she had been listening to Luke earlier 'Yeah, Jess'.

'Who said Jess was a girl?'

'Erm, how many guys do you know called Jess? It's a girl's name,' Lorelai said matter-of-factly. Inwardly she was curious as to why they were suddenly discussing the gender of Luke's relatives.

'Fine,' Rory replied resolutely, putting an end to the conversation.

Lorelai stared at her mug with a saddened expression upon her face. 'Poor us.'

'Why?'

'Cesar's coffee stinks, and that's what we'll be left with for the next few days.'

'Oh, poor us,' Rory agreed wholeheartedly.

-----------

If Jess were honest with himself, he was nervous. Having not seen Luke since his childhood, Jess could safely say he had no recollection of his uncle. Sure, they had talked on the phone last night when Luke had agreed to travel all the way to New York to help his sister, but his outburst of anger towards Phil had caused Jess to grow uneasy over how Luke would essentially deal with the situation. Instead of actually creating a solution to the problem, Luke had instead made threats and while Jess couldn't argue with the fact that they should be carried out, he was in fact more concerned about his mother's well-being.

Wrapping his jacket tighter around his body to shield himself from the slight breeze, Jess waited in the bus station for the arrival of his relative. Although the bus should have arrived fifteen minutes earlier, Jess was aware that not only was this public transport -which was unreliable- but that he was in New York where the traffic was hell.

Suddenly Jess noticed the bus pulling into the station. Sighing, he mentally prepared himself for the family reunion. Watching as the passengers stepped off the vehicle he couldn't spot a single person that looked like they were remotely related to him or his mother.

'Jess Mariano?'

Standing in front of him was a gruff man carrying a small duffle bag and wearing a backwards baseball cap. Jess couldn't decide whether he was more surprised that the man was less threatening than he'd imagined or that he actually still wore a backwards baseball cap in this day and age.

'Luke,' Jess stated as confirmation.

'Ok, so…' Luke started. It appeared that a way with words ran in the family.

'I'll show you to the apartment. It's only a couple of blocks.' Jess turned around and began walking, leaving Luke no time to respond. In silence both men made their way through the streets of New York.

After closing and locking the apartment door, Jess watched as his uncle took in the surroundings. Standing awkwardly, he waited for Luke to comment on what a mess the place was. Stains on the carpet and a kitchen wall that constantly grew mold, due to the damp, made the apartment less than welcoming.

'So, nice place you two have here,' Luke attempted as a way to be polite. 'Can I see the rest of it?'

Jess stared at Luke, incredulous. He actually was standing there as though he expected to be given a tour! The apartment was tiny and it wasn't exactly difficult to find the way around. 'Sure, that's the bathroom, Liz's room and my room,' he said, pointing out the individual doors. 'If you need anymore help I'll draw you up a map.'

'No, that's okay,' Luke responded with a wave of his hand, taking Jess's last comment as serious.

'Right.'

An awkward silence settled, and unsure as to what to do next, Jess made his way towards his own bedroom, planning to just sit down for a few hours with a good book. Somewhere in the next room he could hear Luke moving around, probably unpacking what little he'd brought with him. Occasionally, he heard a grunt of frustration or muffled curses as Luke stumbled over the heaps of clothes Liz had left scattered on the floor. Jess couldn't help but snicker at the image.

But Jess's hopes of sitting alone were short lived. Obviously finished unpacking, Luke had decided to seek out his nephew.

The man came barging into Jess's room, taking a seat on the end of his bed. The action did nothing to endear him to Jess, as it was usually understood that no one invaded his personal space.

'So, when do you want to visit your mother?' Luke asked, taking in the surroundings once again.

Placing his book down, Jess looked up. 'I thought you were going alone.'

'She's your mother. I thought you'd wanna be there,' Luke reasoned.

'I wasn't really much help yesterday. That's kinda why I called you.' Plus, there was the fact that as worried as he was, Jess couldn't help but be a little angry at Liz. Despite wanting nothing more than her free, their conversation yesterday had distressed him. Liz was a grown woman who shouldn't fall for tricks so easily and Jess wasn't sure if he would be able to hear her talk about it anymore.

After a few seconds of the uncomfortable silence that Jess guessed would always appear when he was left alone with Luke, his uncle decided it was time to leave. Hearing the apartment door shut, Jess understood that he was now alone and that Luke had finally gone to visit his sister.

----------

Walking into the school that morning, Rory made a beeline to where Louise and Madeline were usually found. This was her last chance at keeping Jess as a friend and Rory was eager to know if that situation was still an option.

With Louise straight down the hall Rory quickened her pace, only to be cut off by Paris, standing directly in front of her.

'Gilmore!'

Rory growled in frustration but stopped anyway. Judging by the infuriated expression upon her friend's face, she knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant hello. Instead, Rory made a mental list of all the things she could possibly have done to irritate Paris. Had something happened at the Franklin? Or maybe her section of their group presentation wasn't quite up to Paris's standards.

'I told you yesterday, I needed my notes back during lunch. Personally, I was under the impression that our relations were improving, but then you go and do something like this.'

'Paris, I'm sorry. I meant to give them back, I just forgot,' Rory apologized. Only Paris would be that protective over a set of English notes.

Although slightly appeased, Paris continued the questioning. 'Did you copy the notes down exactly? You were supposed to create your own. If I find out you used all my material for the test-'

'I didn't copy your work, Paris,' Rory fired back, curtly.

'What's the matter with you today?' Paris asked, slightly taken aback.

'Nothing. I just skipped breakfast. Luke's on a trip,' Rory said, distantly.

Paris frowned. 'Who's Luke?'

'He owns the diner and makes all our food,' Rory explained as she began moving down the hall again towards her destination.

'Your town only has one cook? Wow, it's even smaller and more backward than I originally thought.'

'No, Luke… Never mind. Look I have to talk to Louise.' Rather than attempt to explain to Paris that in actual fact, Stars Hollow wasn't backwards, she decided to reset her mission solely back on Jess.

'Oh, I forgot,' Paris started. 'You know he's probably not worth it. You only met him a few days ago and already he's sidetracked you from one class and made you forget to give my notes back. If you really plan to keep in contact with him you may as well say goodbye Harvard and hello McDonalds.'

Once again deciding to ignore Paris, Rory stepped right up towards Louise and Madeline. Waiting for the right window in their conversation to jump in, Rory quickly noticed it wasn't going to happen. She was just going to have to interrupt.

'Louise?' Rory barked at the blonde, her voice a little louder than usual. When both girls had turned towards her she continued at a lower volume. 'Umm, did you happen to get hold of Sean last night?'

'Yep. We got into a huge fight. He said-' Louise began.

'Oh, good God,' Paris muttered. Never had Rory been so thankful of Paris's impatience. Her words had halted Louise's story.

'Did he say anything about Jess?' Rory asked.

'Oh, apparently he hasn't seen Jess since Saturday night. He did say though, that Jess's mom hardly ever paid the phone bill so he didn't have his number or anything,' Louise responded.

'So that's it?' Rory couldn't help the aggravation evident in her voice. This had been her last chance and apparently it was a dead end. Jess had already explained that his mother had forgotten to pay the bills, but she didn't think it would be such a regular occurrence that they no longer seemed to have a phone number.

Already touchy at Paris's earlier words, Louise retorted, 'What else was I supposed to do? Ask to see if Jess kept carrier pigeons?' With that she slammed her locker shut and stalked away, indicating that if Rory wanted any more favours she wouldn't be the one performing them.

'Well, at least you won't be working at McDonalds anymore,' Paris announced. 'I'll see you in class.'

Rory stood alone in the hallway. Her relationship with Jess was now officially ended. Unable to think up anymore options, it was clear that the two of them would most likely never speak again.

As Paris had noted, her obsession with creating a friend in Jess had already affected her concentration in class, not to mention her relationship with Dean. Both Dean and school had been increasingly important aspects in Rory's life and to ignore them for a guy she barely knew was illogical.

Hearing the bell ring for class Rory began to wander in the direction of her next lesson.

-----------

'Oh, big brother, you came!' was the first thing Luke heard, after being directed into a small room where he was able to talk to Liz.

Sitting down and staring up at him was his little sister. It had been years since they had seen each other in person, both finding it easier to keep their distance.

Despite being close during their childhood, things had soured shortly after their mother's premature death. Interests had wavered and Liz had started her teenage rebellion. Her leaving Stars Hollow had been the last straw. They phoned each other occasionally, of course, but usually only once or twice a year. During those calls they briefly caught each other up to date on the latest news, but both seemed to keep the topics extremely general. Neither divulging anything at all personal.

'So, Jess filled me in,' Luke started. Now was hardly the place to catch up or show his disappointment. He was the big brother after all, and had to remain strong for Liz.

'Yeah,' Liz muttered, looking every bit the teenager preparing to be told off. 'He visited yesterday. Oh Luke, you know I didn't mean for this to happen, right?'

'Yeah, yeah. Of course, and Jess knows that too,' Luke reassured.

Liz let out a slight laugh. 'That shows how little you know him! He's mad at me.'

'He is not mad.'

'Oh yeah? Why isn't he here then?' Liz challenged.

Stumbling over his words, Luke attempted to explain. 'He, err… he had some things to do. Errands to run.'

Liz snorted. 'It's okay. I don't really deserve his forgiveness.'

A moment's silence passed before Luke began to speak again. 'So, I'm gonna have to speak to someone and see what's happening. The woman at the front desk wasn't very helpful. Hopefully I'll be able to find out what exactly you're charged with, and the sentence and all that.'

'Okay.' Liz nodded.

'Look, do you know where Phil is? I'm sure if we can hand him in, give the money back, you'll be let off easier,' Luke attempted to keep his voice calm in an effort to keep Liz in the same state.

'I don't know where he is. We didn't really do a lot of talking about stuff. He mentioned family in Minnesota, but how would you find them? I don't even know if that's where he went-' Liz paused, thinking of anything else she might know. Throwing her arms up in frustration, she finished, 'How do I even know he wasn't lying about that as well? I really thought this one was different.'

Hating to see Liz melancholy, Luke reached out and patted her arm in a gesture of comfort. 'I know. You always think they're different'.

'What about Jess?' Liz finally asked. 'If something happens to me, I need to know he's gonna be okay- keep him on the right track.'

'If worst comes to worst, he can stay with me in Stars Hollow,' Luke offered, frowning at the image of Jess messing up the order of things in his apartment.

'Where? Your place only has one bed.'

'I'll find space. Look, don't worry about Jess. I'll make sure he's fine'

'He won't go,' Liz muttered, under her breath.

'What?' Luke asked, perplexed.

'Jess; he won't go to Stars Hollow with you,' Liz explained.

'Well, I'll make him go,' Luke said through gritted teeth. He had come to New York to help Liz and he'd be damned if Jess got in the way of that. In his brief acquaintance with the boy, Jess hadn't seemed that bad. Sure he was a little quiet and perhaps a little moody, but Luke was positive that Jess would do anything if it helped Liz. It was Jess that called Luke in the first place after all.

'Jess won't do what Jess doesn't want to do.'

'Look, we don't even know if it'll come to that, so let's not make any plans just yet,' Luke said, ending the conversation.

'Okay.'

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End file.
